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Arctotherium
The Cave Bear (Ursus Spelaeus) is a genus of fairly large carnivorous prehistoric bear that originated during the Pleistocene epoch in what is now North America, Europe, and Asia and became extinct around the end of the Ice Age. Arguably the apex predator of its time, it was the largest species of bear that ever existed, standing close to 6 meters on its hind legs and weighing over a ton. Facts Era & Discovery Cave Bears lived during the Pleistocene over 1 million years ago and died out at the end of the Ice Age 10,000 years ago. They lived alongside animals like Ice age Bison, woolly rhinos, cave lions, and the woolly mammoths and were also the apex predators of the Ice Age. Cave bear skeletons were first described in 1774 by Johann Friederich Esper in his book "Newly Discovered Zoolites of Unknown Four Footed Animals". Physical Attributes A species of prehistoric bear, Cave Bears were the largest species of bears ever discovered. Standing 13–18 feet (4–5 m) tall (on their hind legs at least) and weighing up to 1–1.5 tons (2,000–3,000 lbs.), Cave Bears were more muscular and even stronger than any other species of bear. Despite their large size, Cave Bears were very fast animals, able to reach speeds in excess of 20–45 mph (32–72 km/h) and run over a long distance. This is because their front and rear legs were equal in length as opposed to even the largest modern bears in which their front legs are shorter than their back legs and could run over a short distance. Cave Bears looked very similar to regular brown bears, but they were larger and more muscular. Unlike some brown bear subspecies, they did not have fatty humps on their backs. They also exhibited major sexual dimorphism, as the female of the species was much smaller in size than the quite large male. Cave Bears were huge, but unfortunately, they couldn't climb trees like most modern bears. Regardless of gender or size, Cave Bears were very large mammalian carnivores. They had long arms armed with sharp claws and much like Tyrannosaurus rex, they also had a mouth of bone-crushing teeth, though not quite as strong. Cave Bears also had a thick hide which kept them warm during the winter. However, despite these attributes, Cave Bears did have one weakness; their underside. Because of their giant size, Cave Bears were also very physically strong animals. Behavior & Traits Like many predatory mammals, Cave Bears were both social and solitary animals. Hence the name, they lived in caves. The females were highly protective of their cubs and the males were known to be cannibalistic, eating bear cub if they were ever hungry. Males had large territories of around 200 square miles (518 square kilometers). Like most other bears, though carnivores, Cave Bears were also generalist feeders, not being very carnivorous bears, eating berries and vegetation, as well as scavenging carrion, and presumably killing smaller animals. However, if necessary, they would hunt larger prey, even ones as mighty as the Mammoth. In winter months (hence their name), they would hibernate in caves, like modern bears. And in order to hibernate in winter, they would eat Barries and early spring vegetation as well as fish to last them several months. If a Cave Bear was found in a cave and awoken, it would chase away, not hunt, whatever it was that disturbed it in its sleep. But either way, whether chasing an intruder, hunting prey or even fighting a rival, like all bears, Cave Bears were able to rear up on their hind legs to intimate its opponents. Unlike most bears, Cave Bears couldn't climb trees. However, much like the sauropod dinosaurs, they were able to use their raw physical strength to bring trees down. Journal Entry Gallery 1000px-1x2 CaveBearReturnsToCave.jpg imagesCAFSEQN4.jpg 1000px-1x2_CaveBear.jpg Bear_face.png 200px-Ursus.png Trivia *The sound effect for the Cave Bear are that of typical bear sounds that were also slightly modified to give it a more awesome appearance. Additionally, it has some lion and tiger growls, walrus snarls, crocodile and snake hisses, bull roars and some elephant roars as well. *''Cave Bears'' died out long before 10,000 years ago. Allen even pointed this out right after the chase. *''Cave Bears'' actually may have been mainly vegetarian. *''Cave Bears'' were probably not very aggressive, like some modern bears, though this is a speculation. *''Cave Bears'' were not as large and as powerful as depicted in Prehistoric Earth. In fact, they are believed to have been smaller than present-day brown bears. *A Cave Bear was one of the last animals brought to the park. Category:Prehistoric Animals Category:Beasts (Life After Dinosaurs) Category:Mammals Category:Carnivores Category:Apex Predators Category:Omnivores Category:Pleistocene Animals Category:Pleistocene Mammals